Maintaining your garden involves carrying out a few tasks on a regular cycle. We work with some of Auckland's most reputable garden maintenance services. We can put you in touch with them if needed.
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Aside from ruining the overall aesthetic of your garden, weeds compete with your plants for both water and nutrient supply. Keeping your garden free of weeds will ensure that your plants access the water and food they need to thrive.
Spring is the season for weeding. The warmer weather, combined with spring rain provide ideal conditions for rampant weed growth.
Mulching is an important next step once you have cleared your garden beds of weeds. Not only does a generous layer of mulch helps to suppress weed regrowth, but it also helps to keep the soil cool and retain moisture - moisture that your plants require for survival. Spreading mulch will also help to prevent soil erosion.
November is a great month to mulch your garden or ensure existing mulch is still providing adequate protection. The spring weather is prime for weed growth and is when you will begin to see the demands of the warmer weather on your soil. As mentioned above, mulch supports water retention in the ground and keeps the soil cool, which helps keep your plant’s root system healthy. Equally, mulch traps in the warmth during the winter months and protects your plants as the soil temperature cools.
Aside from keeping your garden looking tidy, pruning is essential to the health of your plants and trees. Pruning dead branches will ensure that the healthy part of the plant is not being deprived of light while removing diseased branches will ensure that the ailment does not spread throughout the plant.
Pruning can also encourage desired growth, whether that be flowering, fruiting or general abundance of the plant itself.
Taking time to care for your compost will ensure that it functions well in your garden. May is an excellent time to get stuck into some compost maintenance.
Autumn leaves are abundant and are a great source of carbon; vital for composting! Add vegetable scraps and grass clippings and position in a spot where it will catch all the winter sun, and you should be rewarded with an organic powerhouse to feed your garden.
Plants make their own food, but they require essential nutrients for optimum growth, just as we do. While many of these nutrients are readily available in the soil, some are not. Enter the fertiliser!
Fertilisers contain nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium. All these nutrients are essential to a plant’s growth and function.
Supplementing soil with organic matter such as nutrient-rich compost is the best way to support plant health and improve soil quality in your garden. Therefore, raising its nutrient profile.
Liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, and alfalfa meal are also excellent organic options.
Plants are most active during the spring and summer months; this is when they experience the most growth, are fruiting or flowering; this is the best time to fertilise. Organic fertilisers require months to break down and penetrate the soil, so they are best applied during the autumn.
The nutrients found in synthetic fertilisers become immediately available and can therefore be applied as and when they are needed.
Plant fruits, vegetables and herbs, trees, shrubs, hedges
Start planning your garden
Plant seedlings and native plants and trees
Depending on the time of lawn you have in your garden - Ready Lawn, Woolgro, or a seeded lawn, your maintenance schedule will differ slightly.
In essence, ensuring that your lawn remains in top health requires regular watering, mowing, and fertilising.
Refer to your lawn providers maintenance guide for the best results.